Allergen applicators



Dec. 30, 1958 s v, LAUB 2,866,452

ALLERGEN APPLICATORS Filed March 11, 1957 fe/vssr S- V L005,

INVENTOR.

United Sttes Patent ALLERGEN APPLICATORS Ernest S. V. Laub, Corona del Mar, Calif.

Application March 11, 1957, Serial No. 645,226 4 Claims. (Cl. 128-2 This invention relates to devices for applying allergens to the human body in order to test for allergic responses.

Reference is made to United States Patent No. 2,235,436, issued to me under the name of Stanley V. Laub, on March 18, 1941, in which I have described a method of allergen application using an allergenic substance in combination with an abrasive substance. The method then described was not effective in many cases, as the abrasive substance frequently failed to abrade the skin sufiiciently to permit the allergen to come into immediate contact with the layer of skin containing the lymph vessels, known as the corium. This failure appeared to be caused by a coating or lubrication of the abrasive substance by the allergenic substance. The lesson to be learned from the failure of this method was that abrasion should take place independently of, and prior to, the application of the allergen, with a minimum of over-lapping. Furthermore, if the allergenic substance did in fact coat or lubricate the abrasive substance, then a coating or lubrication of the same type might 'be relied upon, if released after suflicient abrasion had been effected by other means, to lubricate said other means and prevent excessive abrasion. Still furthermore the patented device, by mixing substances and applying them simultaneously, deprived the allergist of control of the precise amount of allergen administered, which under some circumstances is important, not to mention that lack of such control can be expensive.

It is accordingly an object of my present invention to provide an allergen applicator having an effective scarifying or denuding surface in close cooperation with an allergen-holding cavity.

Another object of my invention is to provide an allergen applicator having an allergen-holding cavity extending through it and adapted to discharge upon the :scarifying side an allergenic substance received by it on "the opposite side.

A further object of my invention is to provide an al- .lergen applicator having sealing means for the receiving side of the aforesaid allergen-holding cavity which are movable to exert a pressure upon the contained allergenic substance to force said substance from the opposite side of the cavity.

Still another object of my invention is to provide an allergen applicator in which the employment of a denuding or scarifying pressure upon the applicator as, a whole is immediately followed by the employment of an allergen-exuding pressure upon a particular part of the applicator, to the end that the allergen may be applied with speed, an effect to be particularly desired when treating timid persons or children, as well as producing economy.

In the accompanying drawing, illustrative of presently preferred embodiments of my invention, and of modifications thereof, Fig. 1 is .a perspective view of one form of my invention, as seen from the upper side;

Fig. 2 is a transverse sectional view, on an enlarged scale, taken on the line of section 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view taken on the line of section 3--3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of a modified form of my invention, as seen from the under or scarifying side;

Fig. 5' is a transverse sectional view on an enlarged scale, taken on the line of section 5-5 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is a longitudinal sectional view of still another modification of my invention; I

Fig. 7 is a transverse sectional view of the same, taken onthe line of section 7-7 of Fig. 6; and

Fig. 8, is a plan view of a group of applicators, illustrating how they may be carried and stored.

Allergens are of many different kinds, animal dandruifs, pollen, and certain kinds of proteins being but a few examples, and they may be used with various vehicles and in several different forms. Some allergens act more effectively when applied as dry powders, many others are best applied in liquid form, while 'still others are applied with a gummy vehicle such as gum acacia. It will be realized as this specification progresses, that no one form of applicator has ever been devised that will satisfactorily apply allergens of all types and physical states; however, I have developed certain principles which are to be found in all the following modifications of my invention, and which in various combinations will apply all the presently commonly used forms of allergens with effectiveness and speed.

7 A strip 10 of hard inelastic material, which may be either metal or a plastic, is bent in the center longitudinally to form a narrow channel 11, the side margins being again bent to form flanges 12 and 13 lying in one plane. The sides 14 and 15 of the channel 11 are closed together at the ends of the strip but just separated in the middle part of the strip, as seen in Fig. 2, to permit ingress of finely pulverized materials into the channel. Along the bottom web 16 of the channel 11, notches 17 are formed, which cut through the web 16 and form exits from the channel. The web 16 is narrowand the corners 19 of thenotches 17 are sufficiently sharp to act as scarifiers when drawn across the human skin.

A piece of tape 20 is ap lied to the flanges 12 and 13, having a sealing compound 21 at its margins but none at its center so as to form a small sac 22 over the central part of the flanges 12 and 13 and the channel 11. The tape 20 may be elastic, or it may be simply a strip of adhesive tape masked at its center so as to be centrally non-adhesive.

In the use of the applicator, a small quantity of a powdered allergenic substance 23 is placed on the central part of the applicator upon the flanges 12 and 13, and the tape 20 is placed over the substance 23 which then occupies the sac 22. This, of course, may be accomplished some time before the applicator is to be used and the applicator may be held in storage in a ready condition. In the actual application, the applicator may be held by its ends between the middle finger and the thumb and may be rubbed back and forth upon the skin of the patient until the sharp corners 19 have scarified the epidermis from the corium, at which time the forefinger is used to bring pressure upon the sac 22 and to force the allergenic substance 23 through the exits of the channel 11, and thus into contact with the denuded corium.

The modification of my invention shown in Figs. 4 and 5 is essentially the same as the form of my invention already described, but is intended to hold an allergen in liquid, rather than in pulverized form. To keep the liquid in containment a strip 25 of a suitably adhesive and liquid proof tape is placed on the outside of the web 16 of the channel 11 so that it covers the notches 17 and the exits; The strip 25 is, of course, removed just before the applicator is used. With the strip 25 in position upon the applicator, the applicator may be filled with a liquid by leaving one end of the tape 20 unstuck upon the flanges 12 and 13, holding that end of the applicator uppermost, filling the sac 22 throughthe opening thus formed, and then sealing that opening,

In Figs. 6 and 7 I have shown another modification of my invention for use with allergens. having a gummy consistency or having a gum as a vehicle. Such allergens will not readily pass through a narrow channel such as the channel 11 butrequire a greater expelling force-thancan be readily applied to a flexible expelling agent like the tape 20, which may break loose at the marginalsealing compound 21 under extreme pressure. The applicator 26, which may advantageously be made of a hard plastic material, for example, Lucite, has a relatively enlarged upper. portion 27 capable of containinga hopper-shaped recess 28 and a lower narrower. portion 29 through which extends a channel 30. The bottom marginof the narrow portion 29 has a narrow ridge 31, cut by a notch 32 to which the channel 30 opens. Corners 33 of the outstanding parts of the ridge 31 which lie on opposite sides of the notch 32 are sharp to provide a skin-abrading or scarifying points. A plunger 34 partially fills the hopper-shaped recess 28. To retain the plunger 34 in the recess 28 a strip of tape 35 may be placed over the plunger and adhered by its margins to the margins'of the upper surface 36 of the upper portion 27; The gummy allergen 37 is placed in the recess 28 below the plunger 34 and in the channel 30. After the skin of the patient has been scarified by the corners 33., the tape 35 may be removed and the plunger 34 may be pressed to exude the gummy allergen 37, or, if the tape 35 be made of sufiiciently elastic material, the plunger 34 may be pressedthrough the tape 35, to effect the same result.

In Fig. 8, I have shown how any of the devices here tofore described may be transported or stored in bulk. As each form of my applicator has a flat upper surface covered by a strip of tape 20 or 35, it is a simple matter to apply a dot of adhesive to the tapes 20 or 35 and to place the applicators in a row upon a sheet of cellophane 40 or similar material with the adhesive dots 41 in contact with the cellophane. The cellophane may then be folded over the applicators as an envelope and secured at its edges by tapes 42 or by heat-treatment.

It will now be clear that whether the allergen to be applied is in a pulverized, liquid, or gummy form or vehicle, I have provided an applicator capable of holding a quantity of the allergen and capable of scarifying or denuding the skin in response to a scratching motion under slight pressure, and then in response to a localized pressure capable of causing the allergen to exude from the applicator and to enter the scarification of the skin. Futhermore, my applicator may be prepared for use long in advance, in leisure time. And although the denuding of the epidermis and the application of the allergen to the corium may be accomplished in a small fraction of the time now required by other applicators, my improved applicator may be manufactured so cheaply that it may economically be used only once and-then discarded.

The disclosed embodiments are not to be construed as limitations upon my invention, the scope of which is deemed to include any desirable constructive modification within the spirit and breadth of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. An allergen applicator comprising parallel walls and a web joining the bottom margins of said walls to form a narrow recess between said walls, said web having at leastone, notch penetrating said web and opening into said recess, said web having skineabrading corners aligned with said notch and at opposite side thereof, and means at the side of said. recess opposite said web for forcing an allergenic substance through said recess and out of said notch.

2. Anallergen applicator comprisingwall means form ing a narrow channel having at least one bottom opening, scarifying means on the exterior bottom surface of said channel, and a tape covering the top of said channel and sealing the same and being flexibly moveable to force contents of said channel through said bottom open- 3. An allergen applicator comprising Wall means forming a narrow channel having at least one bottom opening, scarifying means on the exterior bottom surface of said channel, a plunger in the top of said channel, and a tape stretched across the top of said plunger, said tape being sealed to the upper portions of said wall means.

4. An allergen applicator comprising wall means forming a narrow channel having at least one bottom opening, scarifying means on the exterior bottom surface of said channel, sealing means at the top of said channel, said sealing means being moveable to force contents of said channel through said bottom opening, and a tape removably covering saidscarifying means and said bottom opening.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,131,284 Isturiz Sept. 27, 1938 2,431,985 Bowman et al. Dec. 2, 1947 2,522,309 Simon Sept. 12, 1950 

